Pilot Test
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 1086-1092: Santana and Brittany have offered themselves to join Quinn in her secret work, but she's not just going to let them in. - Trinity series
1. Space for Two More

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 51st cycle. Now cycle 52!_

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**"Pilot Test"  
Older-ish Brittany/Santana, Quinn + New Directions etc  
Trinity series (flashback, origin, following "Crazy Ideas Are Made of This")  
_(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)_**

**1. Space For Two More**

**A/N: This story/week is dedicated to my precious twinsies Daisy and Nancy for their birthday!**

Brittany would come home from work with her day on her face. On this particular day it seemed all had not been well at the clinic, judging by the look she wore upon arriving home. Santana didn't have to leave for work just yet, so she'd made dinner. Seeing her girlfriend's sad face though, she'd stepped away from the stove top and toward her.

"Hey, what happened?" she softly asked.

"We had to put a dog down," Brittany revealed, and Santana hugged her; she should have known.

"I'm sorry," Santana told her. Once she'd gotten to her seat, Santana had brought her a plate. It got her spirits to rise, if only by an inch. The dinner had been made with a dual intention, and seeing the blonde's mood now she hesitated to bring it up, but…

"What's up?" Brittany had asked, and Santana had sighed, looking to her.

"I want to ask you something, and I want you to really think before you answer, okay?" she started, and Brittany nodded. "Are you still absolutely certain you would want to team up with Quinn, do what she does with her, the three of us?"

"I am," Brittany had replied after a moment, surprised that she would bring it up. "But I know you're not, and I wouldn't go if it wasn't all…" she went on, shaking her head.

"Yeah, well, about that," Santana had up, and again Brittany was taken by surprise. "I don't know what changed my mind, so don't ask, but… I'd be willing to give it a shot if you were, too, which… well, I know you are, so…"

"Are you sure? You're not just doing it to make me happy?" Brittany asked.

"I'm sure," Santana promised with a smile. "If it makes you happy, then that's bonus."

"So how do we do it?" Brittany asked, shaken out of her funk. "Do we just call her and say…"

"Let's be a bit more careful about this. We'll have to do that now," Santana pointed out, pulling her phone from her pocket.

"Right," Brittany nodded. Santana had sent Quinn a text: _'Need to talk about my bathroom tiles.'_ When Brittany had read the message back it had taken her a moment to realize she was referring to the night Quinn had been found there, patching up her wounds.

Three days would go by, and no answer would come. They knew the number was still good, or at least it had been, very recently. They worried for some time that something might have happened to her, or she had just ignored it… They figured they would wait until one week had gone by before giving it another shot.

Then that night, as Brittany laid sleeping, Santana would return from work, knowing she was expected to wake the sleeping girl so she'd know she had made it back. It wasn't until she had closed the door into their apartment that she saw the light was on in the living room. She figured Brittany had decided to wait for her, which was stupid since she was due at work in the morning.

It wasn't the right blonde she would find waiting for her in the living room though. When she walked in, wearing a small smile for her patient girlfriend, she was startled instead to find Quinn. She yelled.

"What are you playing? You don't just…"

"What was I going to do, wait in the hall?" Quinn asked. A moment later, a dishevelled and half-asleep Brittany came barrelling out. She was about to ask what was wrong when she saw Quinn. She yelled, too.

"Alright, now that we got that out of our systems, will someone tell me what I'm doing here?" Quinn asked. The two girls had looked to one another, needing to catch their breaths still before one of them could speak.

"We want to help you," Santana started.

"Not this again," Quinn stood.

"No, we want to work with you," Brittany clarified. After a beat, Quinn sat again.

"You can't be serious." So they came and sat across from her.

"She's wanted to do it from day one," Santana pointed to Brittany. "I didn't want to at first, and I still think you're certifiable…"

"That's fair," Quinn shrugged.

"But we were best friends once, you know? And I would hope that we still are," Santana explained. "If we let you go on by yourself like this without doing whatever we could to diminish the risk you find yourself in, then… then we wouldn't be very good friends."

"So this is your solution?" Quinn asked.

"Haven't there been people you've wanted to help but couldn't because you'd be stretched too thin, being alone?" This kept the third girl quiet. "You said it was hard to just trust someone else, and I understand that. But Britt and I, we're not just anyone. We can be trusted. This could be good for you. Aren't you… lonely?" Quinn's eyes had turned away, but the answer was clear on that one. She got up, pacing slowly for a few seconds.

She had paused suddenly, walking to the table by the door, where the mail sat. She picked out the pair of envelopes with the all-too familiar logo of William McKinley High School. Each envelope was addressed to one of the two roommates… She'd received one, too.

Within a couple of weeks, the school would host the five-year-reunion of the class of 2012. That Santana and Brittany would have gotten these, seeing as neither of them had actually graduated from McKinley, was odd, and so she held the envelopes for them to see, asking silently.

"Pretty sure this is Schuester's doing," Santana nodded.

"Or my mom…" Brittany added, head lowered. Quinn considered this.

"Are you going?" she asked.

"We haven't made up our minds yet," Santana revealed. Again, Quinn thought.

"Go," she nodded.

"I'm sorry?" Santana asked.

"Confirm you'll be there, and so will I," she told them, putting the envelopes back where she'd found them before turning back to her friends. "Go to the reunion, and we'll meet there, and… we'll talk some more about it," she explained, moving toward the door.

"So you're saying no," Santana frowned.

"Not saying no. Not saying yes, either. Just be there." She said no more, simply heading out, leaving them there. Brittany went to retrieve the envelopes, looking at them.

"What should we do?" she asked, turning to Santana. It took a few seconds, but she sighed.

"We're going to Lima."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	2. Class of 2012

**"Pilot Test"**

**2. Class of 2012**

They had spent the whole flight trying to calm the butterflies in their stomachs. This weekend was just aiming to be very taxing on them emotionally. It wasn't like they never went to Lima, but they didn't make a habit of it, for how much it would cost. This time in particular though it would latch on to so many issues. For starters, they were going to a reunion for a graduating class which wasn't their own, not after Brittany had ended up in Boston and Santana had followed her. This just lead right into their individual family situations. For Santana it would mean a trip home to see her mother and father and little sister. As far as Catalina went, this was a good thing… Her parents were another story.

In Brittany's case, beyond visits, one component would be more than present in this visit: her mother, as coach, would be right there at the reunion. Things in the Pierce clan may not have been as tense as in the Lopez one, but it remained that there was… a stain, a bruise, and it had not gone away yet, even a handful of years later.

Now they were going back into all of this, knowing there was something on the line. They were going per Quinn's request and no other reason. If it hadn't been for her demand they probably wouldn't have gone at all, no second thought to it. They had no clue what she intended to tell them or why it had to be there of all places, but they had started this, and now they had to finish it.

They had gotten a hotel room, and after checking in and settling in, they had started getting ready. They wanted to get through the reunion before having to deal with their families; that would be, with the exception of Brittany's mother, the next day.

If one thing could give them shivers to see again, it was William McKinley High School. As their cab had pulled up, they felt a jolt. This was where it all began for them. Santana had paid the driver, coming from the car to find Brittany just standing there, looking up at the building.

"Good to go?" she asked, slipping her hand around the blonde's arm. Brittany smiled, nervously, but she smiled, giving a nod. So they had walked up, merging into the incoming pool of McKinley graduates.

"You're here, I can't believe it!" they heard a voice and looked up to find a smiling Tina coming their way. If there was one good thing about coming to this thing, it would be getting to see their old friends. Brittany had been quick to go and hug the girl. Santana had been smiling as well, startled when a hand rested on her shoulder, and she turned to find…

"Mike!" she hugged him.

"What are you two doing here? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm so glad you're here, but you didn't…" Mike asked, curious.

"No, we know," Santana nodded. "Someone apparently had another idea in mind. You haven't seen Schuester, have you?"

"No, but he'll probably be in the gym."

"What about Quinn? Seen her?" Santana asked, and she could feel Brittany looking at her as she asked.

"She got here same time as us, so she should be inside," Tina reported.

Once they had been able to move on, not wanting to come off like they were in too much of a hurry to get away, they had gone seeking Quinn. They'd been interrupted several times on the way, running into more familiar faces, and Brittany would squeeze Santana's arm whenever she could sense her growing impatient.

"I'm going to have a bruise now, you know that, right?" Santana rubbed at her arm as they moved past their latest encounter.

"San…" Brittany had stopped her, making her look up, and then there she was, talking and smiling with Sam and Mercedes. Looking at her now, she looked… normal, which wouldn't be a big deal to most, but Brittany and Santana, they had seen what Quinn Fabray had become. Seeing her pretend for the others now, it was almost frightening.

When Quinn had spotted them, she had excused herself and left Sam and Mercedes to cross the gym and get to the two girls. She would smile and say hello to people on the way, excusing herself, promising to talk to them shortly. When she got to Brittany and Santana, she hugged them like she hadn't seen them in much longer than she actually had.

"Why don't we move this somewhere else," she kept on smiling.

"Yes, let's," Santana smiled right back; she could pretend, too. Finding a quiet and isolated spot, pretence had fallen quickly.

"So you came," Quinn stated.

"You told us to, now here we are… Care to tell us why?"

"If you're serious about this, then I need to see what you can do."

"What does that mean?" Brittany asked, but Santana was ahead of her, just seeing the look on Quinn's face.

"You can't be serious… Here?" Now Brittany understood: Quinn wanted them to steal something, right here.

"Normally I'd have more time to prepare, scope out the place, but this is different, so familiar territory had to do. We all know this place better than most people. It's been over five years since you've been here, but you remember, don't you?" They couldn't deny this. "And the closest thing here to challenge is…"

"No," Brittany spoke up, and Santana knew as well as her what Quinn meant.

"You want us to break into Sylvester's office?" she asked, to be sure.

"There, and somewhere else, simultaneously. From the office, we'll get the coach's championship ring, we know where it is. At the same time, we'll boost the trophy from the case in the hall, you know the one," Quinn stated.

"Wait, but…" Brittany shook her head.

"Don't worry, in this case, we'll put everything back when we're done."

"There are… all those people in the gym," Santana pointed out.

"I once pulled a job in a packed theater," Quinn shrugged.

"What if we get caught?"

"If you want to work with me, then you won't get caught. So, in or not?" Brittany and Santana looked to each other, uncertain, but finally…

"Fine. Lead the way," Santana nodded.

"Easy, not so fast. First, we get out there, you know… mingle. Can't look too suspicious."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	3. Demands & Needs

**"Pilot Test"**

**3. Demands & Needs**

Going back into the gym, it felt like they had a spotlight on them now, and at any moment they could get caught, before they'd ever really done anything. Santana could feel Brittany sticking so tight to her side, she didn't know how they hadn't become fused at the hip by now.

"Hey," she'd slipped her hand in hers. "We'll be fine," she promised. "We haven't done anything yet, we can always back out. Quinn won't hold it against us, and I won't either."

"No, I want to do it," Brittany promised, and now Santana could see the blonde's eyes were following her mother. "She'll never speak to me again if we get caught…" her voice quivered.

"Then we won't get caught," Santana nodded to her. Brittany let out a breath. "She has to know what she's doing. Quinn, I mean… She knows she can do it, so we have to know we can, too. Think you can?" she encouraged. Brittany continued staring for a while, then after blinking and letting out a breath, she turned to Santana.

"We need to stretch. Dance with me?"

"Any time," Santana smiled before Brittany pulled her to the dance floor. For a moment they could forget everything, maybe pretend like this was the prom they'd never had. They could get lost in each other's arms, faces, smiles…

"Mom…" Brittany stopped all at once, midway through the second song, and Santana looked up to find their former coach standing there.

"Thought you might come and say hello," she looked to them.

"Sorry, we just… We got distracted… Hi, Mom," Brittany nervously bowed her head.

"When did you get in town?"

"Just a few hours ago," Santana replied. "Were you the one who sent us the invitations?"

"That's right, you're not graduates here, I guess technically I could ask you to leave."

"Please, don't," Brittany looked to her, on the verge of tears, which seemed to briefly calm her mother down.

"If you want to know, it was all his doing," she pointed off to Will, standing nearby, talking with Kurt and Blaine. "Excuse me, I should make the rounds." Watching her go, Santana frowned.

"Guess she hasn't changed," she commented before looking back to Brittany, who was trying to keep from crying and struggling in the process. "Britt, hey…" she hushed, taking her hand, cupping her cheek with the other. "You okay?"

"No…" she didn't hide it, and Santana sighed, pulling up the hand she held and kissing it.

"What do you need? A drink? Want to go out and get some air?" Santana asked.

"No, just… Give me a minute," Brittany shook her head, finally meeting her eye to at least let her know how thankful she was to have her there. Santana smiled in response: she could always count on having her there.

"Hey, is everything alright?" They looked up as they were approached by Will. Santana snuck a look to Brittany, who shook her head just enough for her to catch.

"Yeah, everything's fine," she lied, then to give Brittany a few more seconds to spare, "So, we heard you were responsible for getting us here?" she asked the teacher.

"I was," he confirmed, laughing. "It just wouldn't have felt right without you two, plus when the principal heard you were all here just now, he made a, uh… request," he explained, and it didn't take them long to figure out just what that request was.

"So now we have to perform a number, unprepared… and commit a crime… also unprepared…" Santana muttered the second part as she and Brittany were moving along after parting with Will.

"Just don't mix the two up," Brittany nodded to herself. Santana stopped her, moving to stand in front of her.

"How are you doing?" She could see her try to evade the subject… she couldn't let her. "Brittany…"

"I'll be fine, just give me something to do," she shrugged.

"Lucky for you, got plenty of that," Santana pointed out, pulling a smile out of the blonde. "Good," she breathed, leaning in to kiss her. "Alright, how about we go say hello to some people," she led her along until they could come across some of their old friends.

"Rachel!" Brittany called out to the girl when she saw her.

"Hey, I heard you were here!" she came to hug them both. "How is it all three of us live in New York and we never see each other?"

"Well I'm sure we can fix that," Santana told her. "Heard you were with some actor or…" she started to ask.

"No, that's… we broke up," Rachel reported.

"Sorry," Brittany told her.

"It's okay… Better off without him," the edge of bitterness in her voice didn't paint a pretty picture of that break up.

"Well, did you hear?" Brittany asked, pointing back to the stage.

"Yeah, I was thinking about that, maybe go with something like 'Don't Stop Believing,' I can still do that one in my sleep," she smiled.

"Like you don't remember all the others, too," Santana pointed out, and Rachel played innocent.

"Alright, just help me get everyone in the choir room as soon as possible?" she nodded, moving along. "Puck!" she called out.

"Our fearless leader, back in action," Santana sighed, pulling Brittany along. "We need to find Quinn."

The girl in question was already seeking them out, and before they knew it, she was behind them, tapping their shoulders, and they let out a sharp surprised noise. "You're going to have to work on that if you're going to get through this," Quinn told them.

"Got it, boss," Santana frowned.

"We're going to perform, with Glee Club," Brittany informed her.

"That's what I heard," Quinn nodded.

"So what about…" Santana gestured.

"We'll do the performance, and when that's all done, then we can get on with your… test," Quinn told them. "If you're still on board…"

"I am," Brittany nodded, and Santana looked to her, sensing the encounter with her mother still weighed on her.

"Yeah… Let's get on with it," she breathed.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	4. Like Way Back When

_A/N: Happy birthday Daisy and Nancy! :D_

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**"Pilot Test"**

**4. Like Way Back When**

Their old choir room had seen a handful of changes in the last five years, but stepping in there, for them, they wouldn't know or care. Twelve of them filed in, coming to form a circle. They had all come as graduates, or accompanying a graduate, or in Santana and Brittany's case by invitation. They had kept in contact with most of the others, though not always so closely, and already the reunion had done just that, reuniting them. Even then, as they had walked into the choir room, some of them were just getting around to greeting each other. Most of them were realizing they had not seen Quinn in a number of years.

"What have you been up to?" Mercedes had asked her, and the blonde could feel Santana and Brittany's eyes on her.

"Just working, sometimes travelling…" she explained with a nod. "I keep busy," she summarized. It was a good thing the subject had been dropped, or they weren't sure how far she'd end up spinning this lie. They weren't sure they were ready to find out.

As determined as they were to do this, seeing her tonight, seeing how easy it was for her to lie in her friends' faces, it sat uncomfortably in their hearts. As much as they wanted to protect her from getting arrested, injured, or killed, they knew their purpose went deeper. It was as they'd said… she was their best friend, still was, and what they saw of her in recent times told them she needed them, anyone… On her own she was becoming something else. And she was lonely; this they saw more than anyone.

They looked to one another and, as uncertain as they'd been about any part of this up until now, it was clear they had to see this through, had to make sure they would not fail her in this task. Tonight, they would be thieves.

"Are you listening?" Rachel's voice, along with Tina and Sam's nudging, brought them back to attention, and their backs straightened as one.

"Sorry… jetlag," Santana shook her head, frowning at herself at the impossibility of this being a reason for their distraction. "We're listening," she promised.

"Sorry," Brittany mumbled.

"Alright, now that I've got everyone's attention," Rachel nodded, "Let's talk songs. "I know we've slapped choreography together on the fly before, but if we can just dust off one we've already got down, then it might be easier. I vote for Don't Stop Believing."

"Sounds good to me," Puck put in his vote of confidence, which in turn got him a smile from Rachel.

"As good as anything," Kurt agreed, and the others got to give their responses as well, nodding one after the other.

"Well… good then," Rachel breathed. "Let's see if we can run through this," she gestured for them to spread out and get into position. It took them a moment for them to find these positions, and it was only as they did that a couple of issues were brought to light.

The bigger one was that Sam, although he'd agreed to this, had not learned this choreography with them. It had been before his time, back when Matt Rutherford was among them. Him and learning steps had already been problematic back in the day, now he had to be walked through it as fast as possible. Then there was Brittany.

It hadn't occurred to Santana at first, that this performance might be a problem for her, after how things had ended back in Boston. Santana hated what the last little while there had done to her girlfriend, but none more than the way it had altered her relationship to dance.

"Hey… are you going to be okay to do this?" she'd asked her, keeping her voice down so not to draw the others into this. Brittany turned to her, frowning.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be? It's Glee Club," she smiled, and the twinkle in her eye at the end of it just filling her soul with warmth… There she was, like they'd never left.

"Right, of course," Santana shrugged. "You would know…" she went on, getting a nod in reply.

Before long, in fact, Brittany would be in front, alongside Mike, providing a refresher on the choreography. Sam was doing his best to follow, and after a while, it was coming back to the others. They were as ready as ever.

"They won't still throw things or yell at us, will they?" Artie wondered as they headed back to the gym.

"No, I mean… We're not kids anymore, we shouldn't…" Rachel tried to reason.

"If they mess up my dress, they'll have to deal with me," Mercedes frowned as they walked, and the caught Sam smirking at her side. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," he promised, though he was still smiling, and it pulled her in, too.

"Alright, let's do this," Rachel breathed as they were cued to take the stage. They got into place, waited… The moment the music came on, it was like no time had passed. For a few too brief minutes, the New Directions, the first, came back to life. There was no throwing or shouting. The spirit took all of them there as well. When the song had ended, it was to cheers.

"That was awesome!" Brittany had put her arms around Santana excitedly, kissing the side of her head.

"It was…" Santana laughed, looking to her, then catching sight of Quinn, on her end. The smile on her face was almost sad… She'd missed this, too, for reasons the rest of them just wouldn't understand, and that Santana and Brittany could only scratch the surface of.

But now their song was done, and their group dispersed back into the crowded gym, all except three. Quinn would catch their eye and guide them into the hall. Once they were in the clear, she had turned to them.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes," Brittany had nodded.

"Definitely," Santana had followed.

"Alright, then let's do it."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	5. Breaker, Sneak, Optic

**"Pilot Test"**

**5. Breaker, Sneak, Optic**

They had gone about the hall, looking to anyone like old friends reminiscing. If they listened to them though, they might find they were discussing something much more serious. Saying that they would do what they were about to do was one thing; actually doing it was on another level.

"I'll take care of getting the ring," Quinn told the other two as they walked. "Brittany, you get the trophy."

"How?" she couldn't help but ask. Quinn turned to her, smiling, and Brittany didn't know what was going on, until she felt something go into her ear, and she flinched.

"Relax, this is just so we can hear each other," she explained, disguising the gesture by carrying through into a hug. When she pulled back, she nodded to the other blonde's handbag. When she looked in, Brittany found a slim black sort of pouch there. "I'll talk you through how to use those, that's how you'll get the trophy. You've got gloves, too."

"What am I doing?" Santana asked, trying to get a discreet look around the hall, making sure no one was looking at them. Her face was abruptly made to turn back to Quinn, and then she was getting the earpiece treatment as well. She sighed, standing still so Quinn wouldn't shove that thing too far by accident.

"You are going to be on lookout duty," Quinn informed her and, at the frown, "If for some reason someone comes along, and we need to create a diversion, there is no one more capable than you," she justified, and it worked to put Santana at ease.

"Fine," she reached to adjust the piece in her ear. "Is it on already?"

"Yeah, once we're on our own you'll hear it. Don't talk louder than normal, you can whisper if you have to, which… well, you do."

"Wait, how do you even have these if you work by yourself?" Santana wondered, and Quinn looked to her with a smirk.

"They're brand new," she revealed; she had bought them for this very occasion. Maybe she was more confident of their success than the two girls realized. "Now look here," they stopped at one junction in the hall. "You just make sure no one comes through here unless you can be sure they won't be coming through and find either me or Brittany. If you really can't stop them without tipping them off, then let us know."

"Like a signal?" Santana asked.

"Go Titans!" Brittany suggested.

"Sounds good," Quinn approved, looking to Santana, confirming she was on board. "Then if we hear that, then it's time to hurry up and get everything back in place and get out of the way. Got it?"

"How long?" Santana asked, and Quinn looked to Brittany.

"Can you do it in three minutes?" Brittany paused to think.

"I'll try," she nodded.

"Maybe I should get the trophy," Santana worried at the thought of sending her out there on her own.

"I'll be alright," Brittany had insisted though, so Santana had breathed out, giving her arm a squeeze.

"I know you can," she promised.

"Everyone take your positions," Quinn finally told them and, after sharing one more look, letting one last chance to back out spend itself, they had moved into their separate tasks' location.

"… can do this… No big deal… Just going to borrow it, I'm not…" Brittany's voice grew clearer in their ears as they were separated.

"Britt, we can hear you," Santana informed her, and her voice was silenced.

"Oh… right… Forget I said anything," she spoke out after a few seconds.

"You'll be fine," Santana reassured her.

"I know," Brittany replied.

"I'm at the office," Quinn's voice followed. "Britt, are you there?"

"Yes," Brittany confirmed.

"You know, we might want to come up with like… code names or something," Santana suggested.

"Maybe next time," Quinn told her, then, "If there is a next time." They could hear clicks, and they guessed she had already broken into the office. "Britt, if you're ready, I'm going to talk you through the lock pick, alright?"

"I'm ready," Brittany agreed.

Santana could hear them talking, Quinn telling Brittany very specifically which tools to take out, where to put them, what to do with them… She had to split her attention between listening to them, in case they asked her or told her anything, and playing her part as lookout. She took out her phone, leaning against a wall and pretending she was doing something, anything, that wasn't what she was actually doing, so not to appear to be standing guard, which was what she was doing.

At the same time, it gave her something to focus on, which was just as well. If she had to stand there with nothing to do she would degenerate into thoughts of what might happen if they got caught. Now though she felt more in control of herself and the situation. She was starting to think Quinn had done right by giving this job to her.

She had found her first 'target' in a pair of misguided former Cheerios. Already the sight of her there was a surprise, and the two of them were apparently semi-drunk, which eased them into asking her question after question.

"Get rid of them," Quinn was grumbling in her ear, and Santana had to bite back the urge to tell her 'I know.'

So she had redirected them to find their star-in-the-making Rachel, so they could quiz her instead. She'd find a way to make it up to her when they were all back in New York. She hoped it would continue being that easy… So then of course she had to be spotted by Schuester.

"Santana, hey, glad I found you." She gave a nod of acknowledgment, putting her phone arm down. "Listen, I just wanted to make sure everything was alright with Brittany. When I came to you earlier, she looked upset, I've tried to find her…" Santana couldn't be sure but she had to figure both Brittany and Quinn could hear them, and it left her instantly tense.

"Oh… yeah…" she shook her head. "She's fine, I promise, and if anything's wrong, I can take care of her," she promised, and he bowed his head, starting to move away. "Hey, Schue," she called him back after a moment. "Thank you for inviting us. It was kind of nice, being back," she shrugged with a smile. He smiled back before continuing on his way. Santana watched him go, letting out a breath.

"Brittany, do you have it?" she heard Quinn ask, bringing Santana back to focus.

"Yeah…" she responded with surprise in her voice.

"Got the ring. Now everyone meet in history class."

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	6. Phase Two

**"Pilot Test"**

**6. Phase Two**

Santana arrived in their old history class to find Brittany standing next to the trophy, which reached about half her height easily. Quinn held a small box which contained Coach Sylvester's ring. They looked up when she walked in, momentarily thinking they might be about to get caught.

"Hey…" Brittany breathed. Santana looked to the two objects, still stunned to think they had actually done this.

"So that wasn't so bad, right?" she looked to Quinn, who put the box down before taking off her gloves.

"Well that was the first part. By now I'd already be out of here, gone, but in this case we are not done. Time to put everything back," she explained before handing her gloves to Santana. "Only this time we're going to alternate. I'll be on lookout. Santana, you put the trophy back, and Brittany…" The girl picked up the box, looking at it with conflict in her eyes. Quinn understood. "Or if you want to be on lookout, I…"

"No, it's fine," she promised, moving out of the classroom and toward her mother's office. Quinn looked back to Santana.

"I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"Don't worry about it," Santana assured her. "Let's go and get this done," she put on the gloves and grabbed the trophy and the tools Quinn handed her.

"Do you know how…"

"Yeah, I was listening," Santana confirmed. "You better get to your spot."

They had parted ways once again, with Santana bound for the trophy case, and Quinn to the hall junction. The truth was she was hoping for the success. This night was nowhere near the amount of preparation she normally put into a job, not like this was anywhere near her current fare, but then… It had started small like this for her, too. Having the two of them there, it made her feel… She hated to think of herself that way, but they made her feel human again. This job of hers, she was realizing, was basically all she had anymore. It wasn't just a job anymore, it was her life. She couldn't just let anyone in, what if she put them in harm's way? The side effect here of course was to condemn herself to loneliness. If anyone ever did get past her barriers it was never for very long, just… a contact high that would fade.

Letting Santana and Brittany back in was a gamble all on its own. Part of her just didn't want them to see what she'd become. They had known her at her best and her worst, but this… She wasn't sure if it even qualified to make the list, it was emptiness, claiming her day to day, but if she didn't have it anymore then… then she would really have nothing.

"Hey, Quinn…" She looked up at the sound of her name, seeing a blonde girl walking up to her. It took a moment for her to place her.

"Elsie… hey," she blinked, standing forward to embrace the fellow former Cheerio. "Thought I saw you."

"What are you doing out here? Why aren't you in there?" Elsie asked.

"Just getting some air," Quinn shrugged.

"Right, well if you see Coach Sylvester, let her know we found a yearbook after all." Quinn's ear twitched.

"Sorry?"

"Some of the other girls and her, we were talking, and we wanted to look up something, so she said she would get hers from her office." The school's layout flashed in her mind, and she knew she'd forgotten one other route… and they had no idea.

"Yearbook… Right, well… Go Titans," she tried to sound as cheerful as possible, even if she was panicking on the inside. Elsie gave her a smile and went on her way. Once she was out of earshot, Quinn started back toward Sylvester's office. "Coach is coming, get out, out now…" she muttered.

"I'm done, coming to you," Santana's voice came in. "Britt, where are you?" she was asking just as she met up with Quinn, and both girls froze when they heard a semi-distant voice in their ears.

"What are you doing in here?" Sue was asking her daughter, which they could hear thanks to her earpiece. Santana and Quinn couldn't move. The thought would occur to them to go in and get her, but they also had to factor in that maybe she was done putting the ring back. This was confirmed when they heard Brittany speak.

"I wanted to see if you still had it."

"Had what?" Sue asked. In the office, Brittany held up a twisted bottle cap which had been strung on to a piece of twine. Brittany had not lied; she had wanted to see if it was still there, in her mother's first drawer. After she'd put the ring back, closed everything, she had to look. When she'd seen it, her heart had felt a bit warmer. She didn't know if she expected her to have thrown it out, but seeing it was still in its place, it gave her hope that… maybe she still had her place, too. She looked up to her mother, saw the same memory of a summer just the two of them, when she was little and there was no Boston school and… everything. "Of course it's still there. It will always be there so long as this is my office, and then I'll find it a new place," Sue promised, doing her best to keep her face together… She would soon fail.

"I don't like this… I hate it… It's been over five years… Why are we like this?" Brittany begged, looking at the cap in her palm. A moment later, her mother's hand closed over hers, sealing the cap in between.

"I don't know… I'm sure my character has something to do with it. But… you're right… Maybe it's time for a change." Brittany looked up into her eyes, making sure she meant this in a good way. The look she found told her that it could be a really good way.

She didn't know how long she'd stood there in her mother's arms, but by the time she'd left the office she had almost forgotten what they'd been doing before. She found Santana and Quinn waiting for her though, and she blinked. "How much did you…" she asked, pulling the earpiece out. The others showed their hands, each of them holding their own piece.

"We took them out once we figured out we were in the clear," Santana promised, reaching to touch her arm, silently asking if she was alright. Brittany gave a small smile and a nod.

"Come on, let's go back in there," Quinn moved to stand on Brittany's other side, the trio moving slowly but surely back toward the gym and the reunion.

"So… how did we do?" Santana asked before they could get there. Quinn's face didn't betray a thing.

"I'll let you guys know in a few days. Right now we're home, we have a chance to see our friends, our families… Let's not let it go to waste," she looked to them with a smile, and they rejoined the reunion.

TO BE CONCLUDED (TOMORROW)


	7. What Comes Of It

_A/N: Last chapter of the story! (not the series of course ;))_

* * *

**"Pilot Test"**

**7. What Comes Of It**

The rest of their time in Lima had been a mixed bag of emotions. Brittany was soothing old wounds with her family, though for Santana it seemed six years weren't enough to mend the gashes she had caused in running after the girl she loved. It was still worth it to go home though, if only to spend time with her little sister. Their parents were another thing entirely.

But now they were back in New York, back home, and it felt like they both could breathe easy again. Now they could wonder about… the other thing, the Quinn thing. She'd said she would contact them. They didn't know just when this would be, so until it came all they could do was go back to their lives and… wait.

"Think she'll say yes?" Brittany had asked Santana on their first night back as they were getting ready for bed.

"I don't know… I wish I did…" she came to sit with her on the bed. "If she says no… it feels like we'd never see her again," she shook her head.

"What makes you say that?" Brittany gasped, blue eyes wide and frightened.

"Just a feeling," Santana shrugged.

It was one week before they woke up to find an unmarked envelope was slipped under their door. Brittany had nearly tripped on it, but then she'd picked it up and opened it. She still recognized the handwriting to this day. The card inside was marked with a time and a date, that very morning, and an address. She'd shown it to Santana.

"Looks like she's playing mysteries again," Santana frowned. "Better get ready…"

They had showered, eaten, dressed, and then they were on their way. They didn't know where they were headed, but they hadn't expected something so residential. The building was nothing like their own building, where the elevator broke at least once a week and the front door stuck… This place looked like it should have had a doorman or something. When they had gotten on to the elevator and looked at the buttons, they looked to one another.

"Top floor, it said," Brittany recalled.

"That's the penthouse," Santana blinked, hitting the button. The climb up was silent, both girls wondering just what it was that they would find there. The elevator dinged, stilled, and then the doors opened.

"Now what?" Brittany whispered. Santana led her out of the elevator and up to the door ahead of them. She knocked, unsure what else to do. After a few seconds, they heard the click of heels nearing the door, and Santana breathed.

"Fabray, that better be you," she muttered just before the door opened.

"Good, you made it," Quinn nodded. "Come on in," she stepped aside.

What they walked into was an unfurnished but impressive apartment. It was impossible not to be stunned by it, even without knowing why they were there. The not knowing was their primary issue though, so they had to ask. Santana watched Brittany dash off to the windows to take in the view.

"What are we doing here? What is this?" Quinn's smile, knowing and amused, wasn't answering her questions, but then…

"This is… ours." The two girls froze and looked to their friend.

"What'd you say?" Santana blinked.

"Ours?" Brittany asked.

"Took some work, but as of this morning," Quinn nodded. "Technically, for now, it's mine, but say the word and your names will be added." Santana looked around, really looked, before turning back to the blonde.

"How the hell can you afford…" she started to ask, and at the look she got from Quinn, she realized… "It pays that much?" she asked.

"Had to know you were in this for more than just the money," Quinn explained. "But, yes, it pays that much… Kind of depleted my funds a bit in buying this place, but I can stay afloat just fine," she promised. "That'll be where you two come in," she smiled.

"So we're in?" Brittany smiled back.

"Looks that way…" Santana was still slightly in shock.

"I have to admit, for what little time we had to prepare, you two did very well. The real thing, it won't be like this, not exactly. It'll be bigger, we'll have to plan deeper, and I'll have to show you how to do certain things, but… I think you'd do just fine."

Brittany had moved up and hugged Quinn, and Santana's heart sank a little for her, seeing how happy it made her to get this embrace. She'd touched her back, and somehow Brittany must have felt her there, as she grouped the hug. They were in this now, no backing away.

"Listen, I don't know how long it'll take for us to pay you back our share of this place…" Santana had started to say, but Quinn shook her head.

"That won't be necessary."

"I don't care if it is, we're paying you back," Santana put her foot down.

"Fine, if you feel you have to," Quinn laughed, and Santana smiled, kissing her cheek.

"Thanks, Q…"

"So we have to move now?" Brittany realized. "If this is our home now…"

"Is that going to be a problem?" Quinn asked them both.

"It was the first place we got together," Santana explained, and Brittany smiled. "But this… this is the next step for us, for all three of us, so it's right. I won't miss the place itself, just… what it meant to us." She looked around the empty penthouse. "We'll just have to make new memories here."

"The unholy trinity, together again," Brittany beamed giddily, getting a chuckle out of the others.

"Being unholy might not be best in this case," Santana took her arm. "Thieves or not…"

THE END


End file.
